Lila stood impatiently in a line at Kelly's. She'd had another run-in with morning sickness and remembered that Mattie had said that soda crackers and herbal tea were good. It seemed that Baby didn't like coffee, so she was resigned to herbal tea as her morning drink.

As the line moved slowly up, she went over her day silently to herself. She had a full day of work that had to be squeezed into only two thirds of a day. She had scheduled an appointment with Mattie in the later afternoon. Sighing, she tapped her foot. She really needed to hurry and get to work. Then it was her turn. Lulu smiled as she waited for Lila to make her decision.

"I'll have the herbal tea—a medium," She added as Lulu punched a few keys on the cash register.

"What, no mocha?" Lulu asked. "That will be two fifty." He took the money Lila handed her and made quick change.

Lila faltered. She wasn't ready for everyone to know yet…especially when Cameron didn't even know. "Uh, no…I'm just trying something new—being a little healthier."

Lulu nodded knowingly, but said nothing. Lila moved to the side while the next customer. As she did, a body appeared behind her.

"Lila!"

She turned around to see Cameron standing in front of her. "Hi Cam. What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me tonight," he replied, reaching for her hand.

As he did, his face blurred and she gripped the counter for support. A queasy feeling came over her and she worried that she was going to get sick. Cam gripped her arm.

"Lila? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Finally his face came back into focus as the dizziness passed.

Lila shook her head, took a deep breath before answering. "N-nothing. I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You're not fine. What's wrong?"

"Cameron, I'm okay. Really. I just need my caffeine," she replied sharply as Lulu handed her the tea. Cameron took it from her, slipped off the lid and took a sniff.

He frowned. "This isn't coffee. It's herbal tea. What's with you? You get dizzy and nauseous and you're drinking herbal tea. Are you sick?"

"I wouldn't say sick," she started, but he cut her off.

"Then I'm taking you to the hospital if you won't tell me what's going on."

"Cameron, no."

"Then tell me Lila," Cam demanded with a steely glint in his eye.

She glanced around at the other patrons. "Not here," she hissed.

He sighed and grabbed her arm, leading the way out of the restaurant. She stumbled behind him and his long legs. He led them to the pier and pushed her onto to the bench. "Now start talking or we are heading straight for the hospital."

"Cameron, for the last time, I'm fine. I'm really okay. I just get a little dizzy every now and then. Please, don't make a big deal out of this," she pleaded. She didn't really want to discuss the matter of their child right now, but was worried that she would have no choice.

"Something is not right. I need to know what is wrong with you." He stood up and paced in front of her. "Damn it Lila, you and I are involved! I need to know that you are all right! You can trust me when you want sex, but not with your health?"

"Cameron, I'm not sick! I-I'm pregnant."

He stopped suddenly. Saying nothing, he simply stared at her. Then he spoke, his voice subdued. "What? Run that by me again."

"I'm pregnant."

He let out a breath as he dropped to the bench next to her. "Wow. Pregnant. I wasn't expecting that."

"I wasn't either," she admitted.

He turned to face her. "Are you okay? I-I mean, how's the baby?"

She smiled. "I'm fine, as far as I know." Then she looked down at her lap, suddenly ashamed. "I'm sorry Cam. I never meant for this to happen."

He frowned and cupped her chin, lifting her face up to meet his. "No. Neither of us ever meant for this to happen, but it did. And now we have to face the facts."

"Cameron, I can't marry you. Not now. I can't marry you until I know that you are marrying me for me, not just for the baby. I won't shut you out of this baby's life, but I can't marry you," she said quickly, taking a deep breath.

He nodded, knowing and loving the fact that she was a prideful and independent woman. "I know. I do love you, but I will wait until I can prove it to you. And I will be a good father to this child. I can promise you that."

"I know you will be a good daddy. And I want you to be a major part of this child's life. Even if it was a mistake," she said, turning away from his face.

"Hey, hey, our baby is not a mistake. It's one hell of a surprise, but it's not a mistake," he protested, forcing her to look at him. "I love you Lila, I know that."

"I know. And I love you too. But right now I really have to get to work." She stood up, leaning down to kiss him. "How about this? You come to my apartment tonight after work, bring me dinner and we'll talk."

He grinned. "Sure. What do you want me to bring?"

She smiled saucily and he was relieved to see the real Lila back again. "Surprise me." And with that, she sprinted up the stairs towards the police station.

He watched her go and smiled thoughtfully. Lila was pregnant. He was going to be a father. It was all so surreal. He knew that he would do whatever it took to win Lila's heart. But first, he needed to focus on being the best father he could be.

And he needed some advice for that. He knew just where to go. Jumping up, he followed Lila's path toward PCPD.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Rachel Jacks sat in her tidy corner office at ELQ. She was supposed to be going over the yearly annual revenue for ELQ, but was instead distracted. She knew that she should be grateful and proud of herself for achieving the position as acting CEO of ELQ—the youngest in the company's history. But she just couldn't seem to bring herself to do the work.

She was distracted because she didn't like her job. No, it wasn't that she didn't like it, but that she wanted something different. She wanted run her own company, not one like ELQ.

And if she hadn't her own way, she'd be running her own company within the new year.

Spread out over the dark mahogany desk was her plans, her dreams, her future. She had spent her days running the bulk of ELQ and her nights running, crunching and ordering numbers to make her dreams come true.

Lady's Court. It would become the biggest boutique on the East coast. Someday it would rival Saks 5th Ave and the likes. She had great plans for her store. And it would become a success. Rachel Jacks demanded nothing less.

She had run the numbers a dozen times. By her calculations, she would be a success. Besides that, Port Charles was the perfect venue. Not only did she have Maxie Jones at her disposal, she also had one of the leading fashion magazines Crimson right in town. Additionally, if Fusion were willing to participate, they'd have the leading cosmetic companies in the country. All in all, there was little chance for failure.

Rachel wouldn't allow for failure. She had been raised by two business-oriented parents who were successful. Rachel had worked her way up the food chain at Metrocourt in high school, graduated Magna Cum Lade from an Ivy League University and spent the better part of the last year reworking ELQ and making it the company that Edward Quartermaine had built it upon.

But she wanted something of her own. Her own creation. She wanted to be the founder and CEO of her own company and she was this much closer to achieving that dream. With luck and determination, her creation would be a reality in a matter of months.

Then she could tell Jake Spencer—the last heir to the Quartermaine fortune—that she quit. Jake had been the burr on her back since the day she'd begun at ELQ. After Monica and Edward Quartermaine had discovered that Jake was Jason's son and a Quartermaine, they'd roped him in the family business. And oddly enough, he found his niche.

He'd been annoyed when she'd been appointed CEO of ELQ instead of him. But Rachel's father was persuasive and very powerful when it came to his shares in the company. And since then, he'd been hell-bent on removing her from her position. But when it became clear that she was what the company needed, the board members had backed her instead of Jake.

As much as she enjoyed her job, she couldn't wait for the day that she could tell Jack that she quit. And if her calculations were correct, she'd never have to answer to a superior again.

Smiling, Rachel meticulously checked her proposition. She needed everything to be perfect. She would impress her father, not as his daughter, but as a business associate. She signed the bottom of the paper and collected her purse. She was practically waltzing to the door as she prepared to give her presentation to Jax Jacks.

When Rachel Jacks had a dream, she did everything in her power to make it a reality.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Elizabeth Morgan frowned from where she stood behind the nurses' station desk on the fifth floor of General Hospital. From her position, she had almost a perfect view of every corridor of the hospital. But at the moment, one corridor in particular had her full attention.

She watched as that new nurse lurked outside of Ric Lansing's hospital room talking on her phone. It was a quick call, made it whispered tones. But Elizabeth had heard the conversation loud and clear.

The nurse seemed nice enough but there was something about the secretive way she'd made her phone call that had the hair on Elizabeth's neck standing up. The woman seemed to have some connection to Ric, but for the life of her, Elizabeth had no idea why. She'd never before seen the woman other than at the hospital. What sort of connection did she have to Ric Lansing?

Elizabeth turned to the computer and went to the employee information. All she knew about the nurse was her first name, but if she was going to report her, she should know more. Typing the woman's name in the search box, she waited until the computer found information. She then reached in her pocket for her own cell phone, moved to a discreet corner of the room and dialed that familiar number.

"Lucky?"

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Okay, I seem to be on a roll here. I have another new story arch in this chapter. And a new character. I think that the character of Rachel Jacks will be fun to write because she'll be a nice mix of Carly and Jax. Please review after you read. I enjoy reading what my readers think of the story. Above all, enjoy! And check back soon!